Chris Coleman

Downtown St. Paul’s new concert hall opens Sunday at Ordway Center for the Performing Arts. A free community open house will be held from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. to launch “Rock the Ordway,” a three-week music celebration. Gov. Mark Dayton and St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman are scheduled to attend the ribbon cutting.

A community meeting was slated for Monday to talk about a video-taped police arrest back in January. Chris Lollie shot a video as St. Paul Police arrested him in the skyway of the First National Bank Building. Lollie was told he was trespassing and refused to show his ID.

The president of the Saint Paul Police Federation has criticized Mayor Chris Coleman for statements he made regarding the arrest of a man that was uploaded to YouTube. The incident involving Chris Lollie and three St. Paul Police officers took place on Jan. 31, but it went viral earlier this week after it was put on the popular video site.

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman is calling for a review after video of an arrest was made public. Chris Lollie shot a video as St. Paul Police arrested him in a skyway in January. It was posted to YouTube this week.

President Barack Obama pledged the federal government’s help Thursday in recovery after massive flooding hit many parts of Minnesota this month, telling a town hall audience near the roaring Minnehaha Falls that they’ll have a strong partner when they know how severe the damage is.

From St. Louis Park to St. Paul — sandbags to mudslides– evidence of flooding is all over the metro. “The people who’ve been here years and years never seen it this bad,” said Tharcisse Mulfinger, of St. Louis Park.

Many say a summer job is a jumpstart to success. That’s why the U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez is coming to St. Paul Friday. He’s getting a look at a program that the city launched to help high school students get work experience. It’s called Right Track, a partnership between the city, the school district and businesses.

After a thrilling overtime win Wednesday night against the Colorado Avalanche, hockey fans have been rushing to get their hands on anything with a Wild logo on it. “This city is pumped. I mean this state’s pumped. We are ready to go,” said Corey Reding, one of many fans with an arm-full of merchandise Friday at The Hockey Lodge inside the Xcel Center.

As the NHL playoffs heat up for the Minnesota Wild, so too are the stakes rising between the Twin Cities and Chicago. On Friday, St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman challenged Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to a friendly bet on the second round series between the Wild and the Chicago Blackhawks.

Recycling just got easier, and more inclusive, in St. Paul. Starting Monday, residents can put all recyclables into one bin for pickup. They can also recycle more plastics — things like produce and deli containers, yogurt cups, and shampoo bottles.

The city of St. Paul will go dark for an hour — to raise awareness about energy conservation and climate change. Between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, buildings throughout St. Paul will turn off their lights. It’s all part of a global movement called “Earth Hour,” which encourages individuals, businesses and governments to use less energy.

It’s one of the most extreme winter competitions, and it’s back in St. Paul this weekend. Red Bull’s Crashed Ice is now in full swing. Last year’s competition brought 100,000 people to downtown St. Paul. And it has local merchants seeing green, like St. Paul’s Eagle Street Grill.

The St. Paul Federation of Teachers and St. Paul Schools have reached a tentative labor agreement on their 2013-15 contract, officials announced Friday morning. After 24 hours of negations between the school district and the union, it appears a teachers’ strike will be avoided.

A major effort is underway to end homelessness in the Twin Cities with a special emphasis on those who are suffering after serving our country. It’s a joint project between St. Paul and Minneapolis, and the mayors of St. Paul and Minneapolis joined forces for Friday’s announcement in downtown Minneapolis.

One of the Twin Cities is getting new snow plows and new leadership after last week’s snowstorm. Five days since the snow started falling, streets in Minneapolis and St. Paul are still caked in slippery ice. Extremely cold temperatures haven’t helped. Salt can melt five times as much ice at 30 degrees as at 20 degrees. However, when it’s colder than that, it’s pretty much useless. But St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman isn’t waiting for a warm-up. He’s making changes in his public works department.